Dwight Howard had his introductory press conference with his hometown Atlanta Hawks. Needless to say, it was an emotional event for the center.
On Wednesday morning, Atlanta native and former NBA All-Star center Dwight Howard had his introductory press conference with the Atlanta Hawks. Howard was once an All-NBA First Team caliber player with the Orlando Magic, but has had four underwhelming years with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets since leaving Central Florida in summer 2012.
Howard and Atlanta teammate, small forward Kent Bazemore, held a joint press conference to announce their signings with the Hawks. Both were very emotional about returning to Atlanta. Bazemore became a starter with the Hawks under head coach Mike Budenholzer last season. Howard got emotional when talking about how important it was to play at home in Atlanta this time around in NBA free agency.
Howard had a tough act to follow after a tearful Bazemore said that Atlanta is his new home after saving his NBA career with Budenholzer’s Hawks the last two years. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house and Howard basically poked fun of himself when it was his turn to speak saying, “there’s gonna be some memes.”
Howard isn’t one of the more popular players in the NBA due to his fall from superstardom (partly as a result of persistent back injuries), his on-court aloofness, and his inability to click with other star players, like Kobe Bryant with the Lakers and James Harden with the Rockets.
However, with many friends and family in attendance, Howard seems elated to be back in Atlanta playing for his hometown team. With the Atlanta brass, basically Budenholzer and general manager Wes Wilcox, picking Howard over long-time center Al Horford in 2016 NBA free agency, the Hawks are all-in on the former No. 1 overall pick by Orlando to be the team’s much-needed rim protector and low post presence.
NBA fans may ultimately poke fun at Howard for getting emotional at a press conference and maybe a few memes will begin to circulate on social media sites. That being said, Howard appears relieved to have arrived in the city where he first made a name for himself. If he’s ready to be coached by Budenholzer and his staff, Atlanta may have gotten great value in Howard rather than giving a five-year max to Horford in 2016 NBA free agency.
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